Observations, Thoughts and Stories as they form in the mind!
'The Door' is a novel by Magda Szabo, a Hungarian writer. I was struck by the similarity in the climax to the Hindi writer Yashpal's short story 'Parda'. In both the stories when tragedy strikes, 'the door' and the 'parda', meaning curtain, drop or are torn apart, leaving the stark reality staring in the face of the spectators and the reader.
The writing of Jorge Luis Borges is like a Maze, a surrealistic maze. I read his book 'Labyrinths', a very good title to this collection of some of his classic short stories, essays and parables. The style of writing is unique and each of these are more complex than the previous. Borges was born in … Continue reading Jorge Luis Borges: A Maze of Surrealism
Homo Deus is a fascinating account of what can become of Homo sapiens with the expanding frontiers of science and the new technology such as, bio engineering, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Harari predicts that the human agenda will focus on how to counter old age, remain in a permanent state of happiness and being Homo Deus, God!
Anitav Ghosh's new novel ‘Gun Island’ is similar and yet different from his earlier novels. He weaves a fascinating tale of displacement of people and animals due to disasters plaguing this world, with an air of mystery hinging on the supernatural.
"I am dragged upwards and set on my feet. I claw at my clothes. Then I am doubled over and my wrist is being folded back, bending, bent as far as it will go and bending still. My nose is near the pavement when the bone begins to bow. I try to regain my balance, … Continue reading A Dysfunctional Family
On one of our periodic visits to the local bookstore Crossword I picked up a novel "The Signature of All Things" by Elizabeth Gilbert. It was from one of my favourite genre, with powerful woman characters, detailed and well researched themes. This time the theme of the story turned out to be botany! I never knew that the author … Continue reading All Things Bright and Beautiful
Arundhati Roy’s second novel “Ministry of Utmost Happiness” is not happy at all. A story that begins and ends in a graveyard can hardly be happy! Did not understand why she chose this title. In twenty years since she wrote her first novel “The God of Small Things”, she has definitely seen a lot of … Continue reading Arundhati Roy’s Ministry of Utmost Sadness
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize in 2007 in literature. The book was written and published in 1962. It records the life of Anna Wuff and her experiences with the communist movements in South Rodhesia and United Kingdom. One of the most fascinating books I have read, Doris Lessing style is … Continue reading Pages Out of The Golden Notebook
An early novel by my favourite author Amitav Ghosh ‘The Shadow Lines’ (1988) is a rather rambling story about two families from Dhaka (now in Bangladesh) who moved to India and the UK. His later novels mastered this art of a wide sweep across time and space. I have read all his novels with great … Continue reading The World of Shadow Lines
